Vallejo police plan DUI checkpoint for Friday

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The Vallejo Police Department Traffic Division will be conducting a DUI Checkpoint on Friday at an undisclosed location within the city limits commencing at 7 p.m., the department announced.

“Officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment, with officers checking drivers for proper licensing, delaying motorists only momentarily,” said Vallejo police Lt. Michael Nichelini in a department news release. “When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving, which now accounts for a growing number of impaired driving crashes.”

DUI checkpoints are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests, affording the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence, officials said. Locations are chosen with safety considerations for the officers and the public.

VPD supports the new effort from the Office of Traffic Safety that aims to educate all drivers that ‘DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze,’ according to the same release.

“If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, you might be impaired enough to get a DUI,” they said. “Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI.”

The deterrent effect of High Visibility Enforcement using both DUI checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols has proven to lower the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug impaired crashes. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized proactive DUI operations are conducted routinely.

In California, alcohol involved collisions led to 1,155 deaths and nearly 24,000 serious injuries in 2014 because someone failed to designate a sober driver. Over the course of the past three years Vallejo Police officers have investigated 231 DUI collisions which have claimed 8 lives and resulted in another 240 injuries.

Drivers are encouraged to download the Designated Driver VIP, or “DDVIP,” free mobile app for Android or iPhone. The DDVIP app helps find nearby bars and restaurants that feature free incentives for the designated sober driver, from free non-alcoholic drinks to free appetizers and more. The feature-packed app even has social media tie-ins.